After more than three decades of writing, recording, and performing, Chris Simpson is revisiting the music that has defined his career from a much more stripped-back perspective.
The Mineral, The Gloria Record, and Mountain Time songwriter will spend December 2026 and January 2027 on a U.S. acoustic tour, performing entirely on his own. Rather than attempting to recreate the scale or intensity of his previous bands, Simpson is approaching these songs from the opposite direction reducing them to their essential parts and allowing the lyrics, melodies, and emotional weight to carry the performances.
The result is a setting where songs that were once surrounded by volume and full-band arrangements can take on an entirely different character. Simpson will draw from across his extensive catalog, moving between different eras of his songwriting while giving familiar material room to breathe. The acoustic format also creates an opportunity for longtime listeners to hear these songs without the distance that can sometimes come with a larger production.
For Simpson, the experience has been unexpectedly personal.
“I’m really excited about playing these Mineral songs in this setting, removed from the volume and velocity of their original context, but not from their intensity and passion.”
He describes returning to the material in this way as both rejuvenating and exhilarating, particularly because the songs continue to hold a personal connection for him decades after they were originally written. The upcoming shows will give audiences an opportunity to experience that relationship firsthand, with Simpson sharing the songs in a much more intimate environment.
The tour also arrives alongside a significant moment for Mineral’s recorded history. Numero Group recently announced Might As Well Be Here, a three-LP collection bringing together the band’s complete Crank! Records-era recordings. The box set includes replicas of Mineral’s landmark 1996 debut The Power of Failing and their final studio album EndSerenading, alongside …And What Remains, a collection bringing together singles and demos.
The release is further expanded by extensive liner notes from writer Nina Corcoran, alongside archival photographs, flyers, lyrics, and other period material that document the world surrounding the band during one of the most important periods of its history. With pre-orders for Might As Well Be Here already sold out, Simpson’s acoustic tour offers another way to reconnect with that catalog not through an archival release, but through the person who originally helped bring many of those songs to life.
For listeners who have carried Mineral’s music with them for years, these performances promise a different kind of encounter: familiar songs stripped down, removed from their original surroundings, and given the space to reveal what has remained underneath all along.
Chris Simpson’s acoustic tour dates are listed below.
DECEMBER
08 — Chicago, IL — Beat Kitchen
09 — Minneapolis, MN — 7th St Entry
16 — New York, NY — Mercury Lounge
18 — Washington, DC — Union Stage
JANUARY
07 — San Francisco, CA — Rickshaw Stop
08 — Los Angeles, CA — The Echo
09 — Phoenix, AZ — Rebel
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